Faced with a flamboyant, but intermittent Grigor Dimitrov, Novak Djokovic qualified for the 15th time on Saturday in the round of 16 in Melbourne (7-6 [7]6-3, 6-4).
The Serb has accomplished other feats in his career, but this performance, in addition to his longevity, already indicates his form of the day, at a time when questions arise about the state of his thigh. And who did not stop after a medical timeout requested by Djokovic at the end of the first round, to get a long massage. At that time of the match, the defending champion had just snatched a pretty crazy round in the tie-break in terms of its twists and its intensity.
Djokovic was massaged for a long time during the first set. (H. McKay/Reuters)
Very close to flinching at the end of the first set
Novak Djokovic, who had taken the wide entry and who had only lost five points on service, had obtained three set points at 5-3 on his opponent’s service, before being unbroken in stride, and to in turn save two set points thanks to his service. Very close to giving up, even with a 4-1 lead in the tie-break, he had to save the set again at 6-7 (attack after a service), before closing the set after two exceptional rallies.
A little embarrassed with his physical apprehensions, jostled by a Bulgarian worthy of his most beautiful inspirations of the past, Djokovic had come out of it with a “djokosmic” rigor and a very efficient service at key moments. And afterwards, he didn’t let go much, despite a sometimes impressive level of play from Dimitrov (what a volley in backhand extension!) who ended up paying against the monolithic block that faced him his few wanderings in moments important and, sometimes, his excessive precipitation (53 winning shots, 45 unforced errors).
Clinical in the second set, the Serb goes through a rather strange third set with four consecutive breaks despite a still quite exceptional quality of play on both sides. And again, it was service (and a rally of 31 wins in the last game) that allowed him to complete the match and win for the tenth time in eleven meetings against Dimitrov, sealing his 24th consecutive success in Melbourne . He will face Alex de Minaur in the round of 16.
